1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toilets, and more particularly to mechanisms for mechanically effecting lowering of the seat thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a toilet seat closing system which is actuated automatically when the toilet is flushed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Commodes, more commonly and hereafter referred to as toilets, and less commonly referred to as water closets, are generally equipped with a pivotally connected seat which is positioned above the bowl. This pivotal attachment facilitates cleaning and also affords use of the toilet as a urinal by male users. Problematically, female users frequently encounter toilets immediately subsequent to a previous male user who has inadvertently failed to lower the seat after having used the toilet in its urinal mode of operation. While ordinarily this results in annoyance and inconvenience for the lady, she may be subjected to embarrassment and even potential injury if, for instance, she sleepily enters a dimly lit or unlit bathroom in the middle of the night expecting the seat to be down when in fact it is up.
In the prior art various devices have been advanced to lower the seat and/or its generally accompanying lid. In one example described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,866 to Hibbs, dated Nov. 21, 1985, the seat is caused to automatically return to the down position by action of a spring while the rate of descent is regulated by a piston sliding within a cylinder which thereby causes fluid flow through a check valve and a flow port, wherein the check valve permits fluid flow therethrough only when the seat is being raised. In another example, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,783, to Shafer, dated Apr. 3, 1990, the lid and seat are caused to be lowered by action of a torsional coil spring acting on the lid, wherein the rate of descent is regulated by a pair of dampening cylinders (one each for the lid and the seat) which are operatively cable regulated with respect to the flush lever of the toilet.
Prior art devices suffer from complicated and expensive mechanisms which do not well mechanically interface with the toilet. What remains needed in the art is a simple, effective and inexpensive toilet seat lowering mechanism which mechanically interfaces with existing toilet technology in a truly synergistic manner.